Mayor Papenfuse Announces Completion of First Phase of Sinkhole Study

HARRISBURG – Gannett Fleming has completed the data collection portion of a geological survey of the neighborhood around the 1400 block of South 14th Street, Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced Tuesday, and core borings to retrieve earth samples are scheduled to be performed this week.

“The first task of the survey has been collection of data from the area of South 14th Street to try to determine what is causing the sinkhole problem,” said Mayor Papenfuse. “Once we know the cause of the problem, we can better advise residents about possible solutions.”

Gannett Fleming is expected to provide a report on the findings of the geological study by mid-August.

Since March 2014, multiple sinkholes have formed on the 1400-block of South 14th Street. The complete geological study will cover a comprehensive area from 13th to 19th streets between Sycamore Street and Cloverly Terrace.

Earlier this year, the City Council voted unanimously to allocate $83,000 to the study. That amount makes up approximately 50 percent of the survey. The other half of the money will come from Capital Region Water.